We'll Be Back
by Oomahey
Summary: Post Hogwarts.Voldemort is gone.Harry,unable to face the aftermath,wants to get away from it all.But someone helps him deal with it. HG Plz R&R.
1. Leaving

We'll Be Back

Disclaimer: None of this is mine, thanks to JKR.

Chapter 1: Leaving

The Burrow was quiet at three in the morning. A lonely figure made its way down the stairs dragging something heavy behind it. It quietly made its way towards the door. A pair of brown eyes traced its every move. The hand of the figure was on the handle of the door, when the owner of the brown eyes spoke up 

"Harry?"

Harry froze and slowly, and guiltily, turned around to face the person. 

"Where are you going?"

"You're not asleep Ginny?" asked Harry.

"You didn't answer me Harry." 

"I am going away. I can't stay here anymore Ginny. I am sure you can understand. All this bloodshed, this mayhem, this is too much. I can't take this anymore. Tomorrow people will be flocking this place to see the 'Great Harry Potter'. I am not sure I can handle all that. I am leaving the magical world." Harry answered bitterly.

**It was true. Voldemort was gone. So were Malfoy, Macnair and all the Death Eaters. It had been a very bloody battle, the last battle, a battle to end all battles. But the war had been won. The light side had come out victorious. But at very heavy costs. Dumbledore was gone, so was McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Hagrid and many others. The only consolation, if it can be called that, was that all the Weasleys had emerged unscathed. Charlie had lost a leg, Bill had serious injuries to the spine and Fred & George had become more serious. The rest were all okay with minor bruises and cuts. Ron and Hermione had escaped with a few scratches here and there. **__

"Alright I understand all that but what about us, Harry? Do you know what will happen to us if you just upped and left?" asked Ginny calmly.

"What is going to happen? You guys have each other to take care of. You guys are better off without me here. All I will do is mope around. You deserve more than that. You have enough reason to celebrate. I will only dampen the high spirit everyone will be in if I stay here. And I don't want to do that."

"What about me Harry? What will I do without you?"

Harry walked a few steps towards her and held her in his arms, "Ginny you deserve someone better than me. I …."

Ginny hugged him fiercely, "No Harry, there cannot be me without you. I will come with you wherever you go. Harry, you need to be taken care of too. I love you and I will take care of you come what may. Please Harry, please let me come with you. I promise I will not be a burden on you in whatever you do. Please let me go with you."

"Ginny don't speak like that. You are not a burden on anyone. You are a caring, compassionate, kind human being. You can never be a burden even if you want to. Any person will be lucky to have you."

"Then let me go with you Harry."

"Ginny my life will be very hard from now on. I most probably will live as a muggle. I don't want to subject you to such a hard life Ginny. You deserve more than that. Much more than that."

"You think I will let you suffer alone? Think again Harry. As I said before I love you and I will stand by you through thick and thin. And don't say I deserve more. You are all that I wanted and more. How can you even think that? I won't stop you from going Harry, I understand why you want to leave but I will come with you too. I cannot live without you Harry" she pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Harry looked into her eyes and saw the determination and the love, aimed at him. He considered himself lucky that he had such a faithful girlfriend. It was then that he realized he was nothing without her. That, in fact, it was she who had kept him going these past few years. He hugged her to him tightly and kissed the top of her head, lost in thought. She always made him see the light when he was being dim, as he was being now. Yes, he thought, he was empty without her in his life. He needed her with him to help him with his life. He had made his decision.

"Yes Ginny, I need you to be with me in my life. I was foolish to think otherwise. I am sorry. But I promise you this will never happen again. I love you so much. And to think, I was about to leave my love behind. God, I'm awful. I'm so sorry …."

Ginny placed a finger on his lips. "It's okay Harry. I know you are dense and didn't think this through. Now I am convinced I need to go with you. If only to make sure you don't commit any more blunders." she teased.

"Why, Miss Weasley? Are you teasing me? 'Cos that is a very big mistake." He said.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?"

He grinned wickedly and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly. He then kissed her passionately and she kissed back just as eagerly. When he let go he said "Get your things. I want to leave before anyone wakes up."

She gave him a bright smile, collected her trunk from behind the couch. He could only smile and shake his head in amazement. She understood him perfectly well. He opened the door to let her out. They both stopped at the threshold to take a last look at the place they had considered home most of their lives. With heavy hearts they stepped out to a new life with each other, a new beginning.


	2. The Next Day

Chapter 2: The Next Day

The sun rose on Ottery St. Catchpole spreading its golden warmth gradually over the town, a bright reminder of a new day, a new era, an era wherein happiness prevails. The warmth washed away with it the feeling of insecurity and fear. Everyone slept peacefully that day, totally exhausted by the battle fought the previous day. Also among them were the occupants of the Burrow.

Ron:

Ron rolled over and stretched comfortably, taking in the smells of the morning. Lying on his back, his eyes still closed, he thought about all that had happened in his life. It seemed there were two distinct sections of his life. Before Voldemort and after Voldemort. The time before Voldemort, though harrowing, had its good points. His adventures with Harry and Hermione, and lately his sister Ginny. He thought about Harry, how happy he must be now that he had killed Voldemort and avenged his parents. He could not have been more wrong. His thoughts then drifted towards Hermione, the love of his life. He still could not believe that he had such a great girlfriend. He wondered what she was doing now. Right then he heard a scream. That was Hermione's voice, he thought sleepily. His eyes snapped open at this realization and he raced out of his room.

Hermione:

Hermione was sleeping peacefully dreaming about the day Harry, Ron and herself had thwarted Voldemort from obtaining the Philosopher's stone when the dream changed to a face with red eyes and a snake-like face with cold cackling laugh. She sat up in her bed, sweating profusely. Her eyes darting about everywhere. It was then that she realized she was dreaming. She mentally slapped herself  'Voldemort is dead, silly girl'. She let out a sigh of relief and looked towards Ginny's bed. Ginny was not there so she assumed Ginny was already up and about and in the kitchen having breakfast. As she was getting ready to go down, she saw something, a parchment, on Ginny's bed. She picked it up and started reading it. That was when she screamed and ran to the hallway.

Ron found her in the hallway clutching a parchment tightly in her hand. Her face was pale as if she had seen a ghost. She turned towards him and ran to hug him, all the time crying hopelessly. He asked her what was wrong. She continued sobbing and mumbled something. He asked again what had happened and she replied:

"She is gone, Ron. Both of them are gone."

He did not have to be told twice as to whom she was referring. He turned pale and read the letter himself. After perusing the contents of the letter his girlfriend and he went down to break the news to the family.

He headed towards the kitchen where his mother could be heard bustling about. They entered and saw almost all the Weasleys assembled there having their breakfast. They walked up to them with grim faces. Mrs.Weasley took one look at them and understood that something was not right. She ordered everyone to keep quiet and asked them what was wrong. Hermione was crying and Ron looked very pale indeed and was clutching Hermione tightly as she cried. He said:

"They are gone."

There was an instant uproar as realization dawned upon everyone. Mrs.Weasley started crying, Mr.Weasley looked grim, the rest had looks of disbelief on their faces. Everyone crowded to read the letter:

Dear Mum, Dad and all you loved ones,

         I'm sorry I had to leave like this. But Harry needs me to help him even if he doesn't realize it. I know he wants to get away from all this even if it is for just a while. I have to be there for him during his time alone or he will descend into this well of guilt he tends to fall into. Please understand. I haven't talked to Harry about it yet but I know I can reach out to him. And help cope with this. Please, I need to do this. For Harry's sake, for all our sake. I'm sure you wouldn't have been happy to know that Harry would be alone out in the world with no one to care for him. So I'm making sure I'm there for him in whatever he does, wherever he goes. Please be happy for our sakes. And remember on thing, "WE WILL BE BACK."

                                                                                               Love,

                                                                                                             Ginny.

(A\N: Sorry, I suck at writing letters. So kindly co-operate.)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TheSecretCharacter: Thanks for the encouragement and the tips. I needed that.


	3. Return to Privet Drive

Chapter 3: Return to Privet Drive.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. Only this time they had no skeletons in the cupboard (A/N: Harry was more or less a skeleton during his stay with them). The Brat, as they called him, no longer lived with them ever since he had finished his freak school six years ago. Thank God for that. Good riddance.

Petunia Dursley was still the horse faced, long toothed nosy character ever. Vernon Dursley was still the large, beefy fake smile person. He was now the MD of Grunnings, the drill company. Dudley Dursley, though, was a surprise. Though still large and mean, he had a fairly well toned body, largely due to his boxing training. This well toned body was employed in bullying and harassing other people of the locality. Now, with Harry Potter, the only person he was afraid of, out of his hair, he had become an even bigger menace. He collected money weekly, along with his rowdy bunch, from people of the locality for Privet Drive Protection Agency. He told the people that it was to keep them safe. Those who did not comply were properly dealt with. It was largely due to his menace that people started to leave Privet Drive. So the gang was now starved of cash and could not pursue their regular "tea parties". (A/N: Related to the tea at the Polkiss' – Book 5).

It was at this time that a young couple came to stay at house number 8. The gang watched them like hawks the first few days and allowed them to settle down before closing in.

Dudley smirked to his gang members and knocked on the door. The door was opened after a few seconds by a beautiful auburn haired, hazel eyed woman.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously seeing five men on her doorstep.

"Good Morning. I'm Dudley Dursley. We are from the Privet Drive Protection Agency. We wanted to talk to you. May we come in?" Dudley asked all the while staring at her ample bosom.

The young woman fidgeted nervously under his stare before replying.

" I'm not sure…." she replied.

Just then a man walked out from an adjoining room. He had sandy brown hair, blue eyes and was a bit taller than Dudley. He was also fairly well built though not to the same extent as Dudley. Dudley stared at the man as if he had seen him somewhere before. He could not place his finger on it though.

"Who is it?" he asked.

The woman quickly abandoned the door and walked over to the man clutching his arm, half-hiding behind him. He sensed her fear instantly. He squeezed her fingers reassuringly.

"What do you want?" he asked in a hard voice.

Dudley was disconcerted with the tone of the man's voice. Nobody had talked to him like that before. He gathered his wits about and replied "We are from Privet Drive Protection Agency. We provide protection for the residents of Privet Drive for a nominal weekly fee of 50 pounds." Dudley stated in what he thought was a commanding and professional voice.

But the man was not fazed by the tone of Dudley's voice and replied in an even tone

"No thank you, we do not need any protection from you. We are quite capable of protecting ourselves."

Dudley had a feeling that the man disliked him for some reason.' Why does he dislike me anyways?' Dudley asked himself. He couldn't find any answers within himself. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on the man. He and his gang members took a few menacing steps towards the man and spoke in a cool and detached voice,

"I must ask you to reconsider or else there will be some ugly repercussions."

The man appeared unfazed and took a few steps forward towards Dudley and spoke in a quiet voice "Can we talk with you alone for a sec?"

Dudley beamed triumphantly at his gang and followed the man and woman inside the room.

Ten minutes later Dudley emerged from the room, chalk white, looking like he had seen a ghost. The gang members were perplexed as to what the man had said to make the Big D act like this. Dudley gathered his courage and asked his gang members to leave the young couple alone as they were old friends. The thick headed gang members relaxed visibly. They did not note the trace of fear in his voice. They all left shortly afterwards after welcoming them to Privet Drive.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry and Ginny walked some way from the Burrow before apparating to a deserted alleyway in London. They rented a room in muggle London and fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day Harry woke up squinting at the sunlight streaming through the window. He was pleasantly surprised to find a warm body snuggled up to him. He looked down to find his red-headed girlfriend snuggled close for warmth. He kissed the top of her head and thought about the near folly he would have committed that night by almost leaving her back. That would have been a stupid, stupid move. He hugged her to him once and got up to take a shower. When he got back, he found Ginny frantic with worry.

"What is it? What happened?" he asked as he came into the bedroom.

As soon as she heard his voice, she snapped her head around and relaxed, the relief apparent on her delicate features. She ran to him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her and asked again what had happened.

"I thought you had left. I didn't see you when I woke up and thought you had gone and left me. Please don't do this again Harry. I was so afraid you had gone….." she continued in this vein for sometime. Harry shushed her and tightened her hold on her, all the time whispering reassurances into her ear.

"I won't go anywhere. I'm right here. I love you, remember that every time such thoughts occur. Whatever happens we'll see through the thick and thin of it. Together. Okay?" he reasserted. Ginny felt reassured. He kissed her forehead and held her for sometime. 

"Harry, what do we do now?" she asked.

"Well, we first go to Gringotts and get some money and then we'll decide where to stay." he replied

Later, after she had taken her bath and got ready, they apparated away to Diagon Alley. They went to Gringotts and withdrew roughly half of his fortune, which amounted to around 25 million pounds. They purchased a few essentials from the shops quickly and then went out of the Leaky Cauldron into the muggle world.

Once in their room, they started to plan their lives ahead.

"Where are we going to stay?" Ginny asked

"We have to stay some place where nobody would dream to search for us. I have decided on Privet Drive." he replied.

"But Harry, isn't that where …." She trailed off, turning to face him.

"Yes, that's where my Aunt and Uncle live. That's why nobody would dream to search for us there. They won't expect us to go back to Privet Drive. I had made enquires earlier and house number 8 is empty and up for sale. So let us see if we can get that" he said. 

They met the owner of number 8 Privet Drive that afternoon to negotiate the deal. He had fled Privet Drive due to the constant harassing by Dudley and his gang. They bought the house posing as Mr. James Smith and Ms. Virginia Clarke. The owner was so glad to have sold that particular piece of property, he didn't even bother to check their proper identities. Harry and Ginny then shopped around for furniture, curtains and other household articles for the next few days. They shifted to their new house, now fully furnished, a week later and started settling in. Harry had changed his appearance as he did not want to be recognized by the Dursleys. He now had sandy brown hair and blue eyes. Ginny stayed the same as the Dursleys had not seen her at all.

A few days later, Ginny was in the living room adjusting some paintings on the wall and Harry was in an adjoining room when someone knocked on the door. Thinking them to be their neighbors, Ginny opened the door. Five men stood oh the doorstep.

"Yes?" she enquired cautiously.

The leader, judging by his size, greeted her and introduced himself and said he was from PDPA. He asked if he could come in. Ginny recognized the name only too well. How many times had Harry not told her about his cousin? The fat, mean, bullying pig. She felt a sudden surge of anger well up within her at this man. Left to herself she would have killed this man several times over for what he had done to Harry. But that was one thing Harry had to do….  HARRY! He was home!! This was not good. She noticed his stare and started to fidget nervously. She said she was not sure. She wanted to get rid of this scum before Harry came in. 

Too late. Harry came in asking who it was. When he saw Dudley, he stopped dead. But by the look on his face, Harry was sure Dudley had not recognized him. Ginny left the door and came over to him and clutched his arm, as if in fear. Harry sensed her fear and gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. He tried very hard to be civil to the beast of a man that Dudley was. Harry saw through the scheme Dudley had put together. It would have been a good one if it meant what it stood for.

But his control almost snapped when Dudley threatened them of 'ugly repercussions'. He asked Dudley to follow Ginny and him into the next room. He was sickened when he saw Dudley beam a triumphant smile to his mates. But he had another thing coming if he thought he had won.

Once inside, Harry motioned Dudley to sit in the chair.

He said,"Mr. Dursley, I repeat, we do not need your protection nor will we give you any money. We will not succumb to your threats and we are not afraid of any 'ugly repercussions'"

"Oh, how can you be so sure of that" Dudley rose from his chair threateningly.

Harry, unfazed, simply said "Like this" and got his wand from his pocket, followed closely by Ginny. At the sight of the wands, Dudley went chalk white and started to sputter and mumble incoherently. 

"We are very good friends of Harry Potter, Mr. Dursley. We know all about you. You know what we can do and trust me you don't want to find out." Harry continued an almost feral smile on his face.

"We would further appreciate it if you did not tell anyone about who we really are. Every body will think you are a freak, a weirdo for speaking stuff like that. If you do talk about us, then I'm afraid there will be …. 'ugly repercussions'. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say" he said twirling the wand in his fingers, his eyes on Dudley's rump.

Dudley, still chalk white, nodded while running a hand over his backside checking for a tail.

"Then it's a deal Mr. Dursley. You will never ever come near us nor threaten us and we will never ever do anything to you. You may go." said Harry.

Dudley nodded dumbly and proceeded out the door. He informed his gang to leave Harry and Ginny alone as they were old friends. They left shortly afterwards.

"Well, that was close" said Harry slumping down into a huge armchair and running a hand through his hair, a sure sign of the stress he was in.

"But you handled it very well, love" said Ginny and started massaging his head. They had devised this during the war against Voldemort. Surprisingly, it worked. 

"Yeah you can say that. I'm the boy who lived after all, I can do anything" he teased and pulled her to his lap.

"Ha ha, don't get any ideas Mr. Potter" she said, smiling.

"Then why don't you give me some ideas" he whispered kissing her and carrying her to the couch.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****

**_TBC…_**


	4. Aunt Petunia

Chapter 4: Aunt Petunia

Petunia Dursley was in the kitchen cooking dinner for her family when she heard the front door open. She went over to greet whoever had come and was startled to see Dudley standing in the doorway, panting and looking deathly pale. Ever the concerned for her precious 'Dudders' she hurried over to him.

"What happened Diddydums?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Huh!" he said as if someone had broken him out of his reverie.

"Dudley?" she asked more gently, grasping his forearm. She was worried now that someone could do something like to Dudley as he was rarely so intimidated.

"N-nothing mum. There's nothing to worry about. Yeah, absolutely nothing to worry about. I don't know why you worry so much." he rambled.

"Are you sure Dudley?" she asked. She was sure he was hiding something from her. Call it a mother's instinct.

"Yeah mum, everything's alright, I'm alright. There's nothing to worry about. I told you" he said, the colour returning to his face due to his mother's presence.

He understood the concern of his mother. She was a strong woman in her own right. She had lived almost all her life around 'freaks'. She had to contend with her 'freak' of a sister all her childhood and her youth till she was killed by another 'freak'. Then she had to look after her sister's son. A 'freak' of the highest order, now off fighting the same 'freak' who had killed his parents. So, though she was surrounded by 'freaks' she had survived and was sane. This made Dudley respect her all the more. He hugged his mother and went up to his room.

Reassured, Petunia went back to the kitchen to cook dinner. She was still concerned that he wasn't telling her something. The only time she had seen her son so frazzled was during the summer of 1996, when he and Harry had been attacked by Dementors. She still shuddered when she thought about how she had almost lost both the boys that night.

Yes, Petunia Dursley had changed. She had changed the moment she heard that Voldemort had returned. She had gone considerably soft on Harry since then, surprising him to no end. Though she was still gruff with him from time to time, she could tell that he could tell it was all an act directed towards Vernon and Dudley. They would never understand what it was like to lose all their family members. Harry had lost his parents and the closest person to a father he ever had, she had lost her parents and her only sister to that monster Voldemort. Though she had never let on, she had shed a few tears at Lily's death. So what if she had been a 'freak', she had still been her sister, her blood. But she had never grieved Lily's death. The long standing jealousy towards Lily had gotten the better of her. This jealousy had clouded her judgement towards the wizarding world in general.

But the rebirth of Voldemort had changed all that. It made her realize the enormity of the situation Harry was in. She knew Voldemort couldn't kill Harry as a child. So he would be baying for Harry's blood now that he was back. It took a few days , but she eventually realized that since Harry was the one to bring about Voldemort's downfall (yes, she knew about the prophecy. Dumbledore had written the gist of it in the letter.) she vowed to make No. 4 Privet Drive a liveable place for Harry. Make it one less thing to worry about now that he had Voldemort to worry about. But then, Harry had been taken away before she could talk to him about it. She determined to talk to Harry and sort things out between them during the next summer vacation. And she did. It was all awkward and tentative at first. Harry wasn't willing to open up to the woman who had mistreated him all his life that easily. Nor did she expect him to. But she eventually reached through to him. He gradually warmed up to their conversations once he realized that her intentions were honest. They found that they both eagerly looked forward to that time of the day when they had these conversations. She talked to him about Hogwarts and his friends. She was horrified to learn how much the boy had endured in his short life. Her heart went out for this child. She immediately regretted all the things she had said and done to make his life miserable. She cursed her stupid jealousy and vowed it would never come in the way of anything ever again. She also told him tales of his mother in her childhood, when they used to play together like true sisters. She also told him all the ridiculous stories about Vernon and Marge, just to hear his laugh which had become rarer and rarer as the years had progressed.

The last time she had seen him was when he had come to take all his belongings after his schooling had finished, indicating that he was moving out. She followed him to his room. Once inside, he said that he had actually come to see her because he had considered her family for the past one year. This statement brought tears to her eyes. She hugged him and wished him well and then said her goodbyes. She wiped her tears and followed him downstairs. He said his goodbyes to Vernon and Dudley. Vernon merely grunted from his position in front of the television which clearly meant 'Good Riddance'. Dudley didn't even glance up from whatever he was eating. Petunia mouthed Harry a silent apology on their behalf which he waved off indicating that he knew these would be their reactions. He sighed and with a quick wave to Petunia, he left.

Petunia still thought about the boy, no, a man now. She was constantly worried about him even though it was six years since she had last seen or heard from him. She sincerely hoped that he was well and had sent Voldemort packing into oblivion to avenge his parents' and her sister's death.

Petunia shook her head to clear her thoughts. It wouldn't do to have such morbid thoughts. All she could do was hope that he would someday contact her.

With that last thought she went back to her favourite pastime: Neighbour Snooping. She had seen this young couple, an attractive red-head and a handsome brown haired young man, move in a week ago. She decided to let them get settled in before she met them. She would meet them tomorrow afternoon, she decided.

The next day passed as usual for Petunia. Get up in the morning, cook breakfast for Vernon and Dudley, see Vernon off to his office and Dudley to wherever he went off to, read a few magazines, snoop on the neighbours, wash the dishes, take a nap. Before she knew, it was already 4'o clock and time to visit the new neighbours. 

Petunia walked the few steps towards No.8. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach which she could not explain. She was pondering over the fact that she didn't realize she had reached the front door of No.8. She broke out of her thoughts and rang the bell. The funny feeling intensified. She found it queer as it had never happened before.

The door was opened by the attractive red-head with the brown haired man behind her. As she looked up, she saw recognition flash across the man's face and his face lit up in a bright smile.

'Did she know him? If yes, from where?' All these questions and more were running through her mind. She almost forgot why she was there. She smiled and introduced herself.

"Hello. My name is Petunia Dursley. I live over at No.4. I came to welcome you to our locality."

"Thank you. Please come in." answered the man with the same bright smile on his face. Did she see a trace of mischievousness in that smile?

Now, Petunia seemed to get a feeling that she knew the person. But from where? She went in nevertheless.

"Please make yourself comfortable" he said indicating a pair of plush armchairs. The woman went into the kitchen to make tea. Petunia sat down in one of the armchairs. The man sat down on the couch opposite her.

They didn't speak a word till the red-headed woman came back with a tray of tea and biscuits. She offered a cup to petunia with a smile on her face, the same mischievous smile the man had, poured one for the man and took one for herself and settled down on the couch next to him.

"You didn't recognize me, did you?" he asked with a small chuckle.

Petunia was dumbfounded. So he actually knew her! But who was he? She thought she recognized the voice and the tone. But the face did not fit. So she was back at square one.

He was looking intently at her, amusement dancing in his eyes. She glanced at the red-head sitting beside him. The woman was shaking with suppressed laughter. The two were laughing at her and here she sat with a dumb expression on her face and staring at both of them in turns.

After watching her for some sign of recognition, and failing to find one, the man sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. They instantly turned jet-black and unruly. He then removed his blue contacts to reveal startling green eyes. He lastly waved a hand over his face to change his facial structure.

"Now do you recognize me?" he asked with mirth in his voice. The woman next to him bow burst out laughing.

Petunia watched his transformation with a look of shock on her face. Her first thought as he revealed his hair was 'What the hell is going on?' But as she looked at his eyes, his piercing emerald green eyes, she knew. She knew it was him. After all, who else had Lily's eyes but Harry? To say she was shocked was an understatement. She was too stunned to speak. She had not expected to see that afternoon. But she was happy all the same.

She didn't say anything for a minute or two. Just stared at him in disbelief. He was smiling. Boy, did she miss that smile. Suddenly, without warning, she jumped out of her armchair and engulfed him in a tight hug, laughing and crying at the same time. Ginny, sensing the need to leave them alone, made towards the door.

"Wait" Harry called out.

Petunia let go of Harry, tears of joy falling freely down her face. Harry smiled down at her and then beckoned for Ginny to come over. Ginny approached the two, somewhat apprehensive. He took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers reassuringly. 

"Aunt Petunia, this is Ginny Weasley, the love of my life. Ginny, this is my Aunt Petunia" he introduced them. Ginny burned red at her introduction but smiled nevertheless.

"Hello Ginny" Petunia smiled warmly at Ginny.

"Hello Mrs. Dursley" Ginny said, returning the smile.

"Call me Petunia, dear. And Harry, I must say your choice is excellent."

She turned to Harry and asked"Weasleys? Aren't they the ones who destroyed our fireplace?"

Ginny flushed a deep red at Petunia's observation. Harry laughed out loud at seeing Ginny's expression.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia, one and the same. Ginny is their sister." He leant in closer and whispered in her ear" But Ginny is capable of breaking more than a fireplace. You should see her temper."

"Hey, I heard that." Ginny said and smacked his arm.

"Ow"

Petunia watched them bicker as a mother would her children. They were made for each other. She only hoped that they remained that way.

After chatting a bit, Petunia rose to leave. She hugged Harry and Ginny and went out the door. Once outside, she looked up at the sky and hoped that Lily would find it in her heart of hearts to forgive her for the atrocities she had heaped on the boy when he was young. She closed her eyes and a single tear escaped her closed eyelids. She had been given a second chance at Harry. She vowed not to let this go to waste as she had the first time around. This done, she hurried home to cook dinner.


End file.
